The present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar of Asiatic of the Genus lily Lilium, and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name `Blue Eyes`.
The new cultivar is a product of a planned breeding program which had the objectives of creating new lily cultivars with the capacity to produce stems and flowers for cut-flower production.
The new cultivar was originated from a hybridization made by the inventor Messr. Petrus Mattheus Maria Hoff in a controlled breeding program at Hoffgaarde B.V., Franseweg 9, NL-4651 PV Steenbergen, The Netherlands, in 1992. The purpose of the breeding program was to obtain a tall variety having a large flower. The female and male parents were seedlings originated by Hoffgaarde B.V. which were proprietary and maintained by Hoffgaarde B.V. for breeding purposes.
The new cultivar was discovered and selected as one flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross by the inventor in a controlled environment in Steenbergen, The Netherlands.
The first act of asexual reproduction using bulbs and bulb components of the new cultivar was accomplished by the inventor in 1994 in a controlled environment in Steenbergen, The Netherlands.
Horticultural examination of clonal specimens has demonstrated that the combination of characteristics as herein disclosed for the new cultivar are firmly fixed and are retained through successive generations of asexual reproduction.
The new cultivar has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary with variations in environment, such as temperature, light, intensity, and day length. The following observations, measurements and comparisons describe plants grown in Steenbergen, The Netherlands, under greenhouse conditions which approximate those generally used in commercial practice.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be basic characteristics of the new cultivar which, in combination, distinguish this lily as a new and distinct cultivar.
1) Pinkish flowers suffusing to white and yellow towards the central and basal portions of the tepals.
2) Plant height of 150 cm.
3) Large flowers.